Sunday, March 31, 2013

Actress Juhi Chawla was invited in holi special episode of Zee Bangla Dance Bangla Dance program on 30th March, 2013.
Superstar Mithun Chakravarty is the anchor of the program who conducts it with the title magician. Actresses Ananya Chatterjee and Swastika Mukherjee are the other judges who regularly adjudicate the dance performances of different child performers in the show.
When Juhi Chawla was asked about her experiences with Mithun Chakravarty, she said he used to help the newcomers a lot. In a particular bollywood film shooting she was sitting in a chair far away from the place where the lead actors like Mithun Chakravarty, Shatrughun Sinha were sitting. Mithun saw her sitting in an isolated place. He called her and then allowed her to sit with the senior artists.
Juhi Chawla shared a hilarious event. The shooting of the film Darr, was going on in Switzerland, and in the cold weather Shahrukh Khan dropped her when he was supposed to hold her during a song consequence.
Mithun Chakravarty in reply told him that he had also been dropped a number of heroines due to different reasons. Both of them danced during a dance number.
Mithun Chakravarty and all the artists appreciated the child participants. Everyone appreciated Juhi Chawla for sacrificing her busy schedule and coming to Kolkata to attend the Zee Bangla Dance Bangla Dance program.

The viewers of bollywood films remember Tragedy Queen Meena Kumari on her death anniversary on 31st March, 2013. Meena Kumari can be considered as the greatest actress of Bollywood during the golden age who had portrayed images and characters showing complexity of the mind of the Indian women and the social ostentations that they had faced during different periods of time. Meena Kumari, born on 1st August, 1932, known as Mahjabeen Bano, stormed into the Indian silver screen in 1952, with the sublime performance in Baiju Bawra. Although the film had been renowned for everlasting composition of Hindustani ragas by Naushad and supreme performance of Mohammad Rafi, with songs like “man tarpata”, “woh duniya ke rakhwale”, etc., Meena Kumari’s performance opposite Bharat Bhushan showed the filmlovers that she had come to conquer Bollywood with her soft style of acting.
In the 50s Meena Kumari’s performance in films like Parineeta, 1953, Footpath, 1954, Yahudi, 1958, etc. were appreciated by critics, but she had created her image of martyr in the film Sharda, 1957, where even after having an affair with Raj Kapoor, in the film she had to sarcrifice her affection to marry Raj Mehra, his father, who was much older than her. In Dil Ek Mandir, 1963, Meena Kumari after having affair with Rajender Kumar in her youth had to marry Raj Kumar, due to social pressure. But from the time she had married Raj Kumar, she fulfilled all the duties of a middle class Hindu woman, and brought her sick husband to the hospital at the mercy of Rajender Kumar. She prayed to God, for the recovery of Raj Kumar. Rajender Kumar sacrificed his life to treat her husband and died at the end of the film. The songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan and sung by Rafi and Lata, had not lost their significance even today.
In 1962, Meena Kumari, performed the role of choti bahu, in Guru Dutt’s Saheb Bibi aur Ghulam, the film showing the zamindari raj (dominance of Feudal lords) existing in the British capital in India, that is Kolkata. She was married to the youngest son in a family of zamindars who used to attend mujras in Jaan bazaar, in Kolkata, where performers from Lucknow, Benaras used to come and exhibit their skills of singing classical songs. She tried to retain her husband Rehman at home, and through her conversation, Guru Dutt, the observer came to know about the history of the family.
Meena Kumar’s performance opposite Pradeep Kumar, used to create a different dimension, as her pardanashin image had matched with royal style of acting of Pradeep Kumar. After the success of Aarti, 1962; Meena Kumari, acted in the blockbusters Bheegi Raat, 1965, and Bahu Begum, 1967, opposite Pradeep Kumar and Ashok Kumar. In Bheegi Raat, she loved Pradeep Kumar, yet due to an accident which made her legs paralysed she could not attend the engagement and worked in the house of Ashok Kumar as governess. When society boycotted Ashok Kumar, she agreed to marry her, but presence of Pradeep Kumar at the end of the film in the song “dil jo na keh saka” compelled Ashok Kumar to sacrifice his affair and go back to London. It was a film where, Rafi, Lata, Roshan and the actors all had provided their best performance possible. Meena Kumar’s other film with Pradeep Kumar titled Chitralekha was also successful.
Meena Kumari had become immortal with her classic performance in the film Pakeeza, 1971, opposite Raj Kumar, which took around 10 years to be completed. It was created on a subject related to women brought up in kotha and exhibited the class of women who could not give the recognition to their next generation as their father’s are not known. The music composed by Ghulam Mohammad, Lata and Rafi’s songs, Kamal Humrohi’s direction (the husband of Meena Kumari) all complemented each other, and the film became historical piece of document.
The greatest hallmark of Meena Kumari lied in her ability to depict the helplessness of Indian women existing specially in the 50s and 60s, when the patriarchal society dominated them and they had no independent income to live separately against the pressure of society. In her performances, beauty, aristrocracy, tragedy, personality all blended into one. Whenever we think about cine-classics like Dil Apna aur Preet Parayi, 1960, or Ghazal, 1965, Meena Kumari’s image automatically comes in our mind. She died in 1972, only at an age of 41. Meena Kumari’s films should be restored in an archive for future generations to learn the art of understanding the characters from the core of the heart the way Meena Kumari had done during the golden age of Indian cinema.

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Eminent actress Kalyani Mondol stormed Zee Bangla Rannaghar Program on 30th March, 2013. She came in the cookery show and taught everyone the art of making potol kachki dish.
Kanchki fish is of the same nature of small fishes like Mourala or Puti. Kalyani Mondol first did cut the vegetable snake gourd also called potol. Then she did fry the potol or snake guard. Then she fried the kanchki fish. Then a jhal like flavor was created with the vegetable and the fish.
Kalyani Mondol was asked by the host what was her experience of acting with superstar Uttam Kumar. She said she used to call Uttam Kumar uncle.
He was very helpful for the junior actresses. He told them how to deliver dialogues. His wife Supriya Choudhury who was called Benudi was an excellent cook. Whatever dishes she used to bring, Uttam Kumar used to share them with the other artists including Kalyani Mondol.
Kalyani Mondol spoke about Dilip Roy who was the brother of her father-in-law. Dilip Roy was an eminent actor and director. He gave a very prominent role to Kalyani Mondol in the film Amrito Kumbher Sandhane.
Kalyani Mondol praised the director Rituporno Ghosh a lot. She said that Rituporno Ghosh gave her a prominent role in a serial based on which the successful film Shubho Mohoraat was made.
Kalyani Mondol said that she had almost 45 years of acting experience. Presently she is making a house in Tagore’s place Shantiniketan. The anchore appreciated her enthusiasm in acting.

Friday, March 29, 2013

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Madhu on 26th March, 2013. Madhu, also known as Madhubala Raghunath had contributed a lot to the bollywood industry especially in the 90s. During the 90s, terrorism became an important issue in India. Many directors addressed the problem by revealing them in films.
Director Mani Ratnam addressed the issue relating to terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir in his Roja. Roja was a trend-setter. After the success of Roja many other directors made films based on terrorism in India. Roja was probably the most successful film of Madhu. It had been shown that Madhu was married to Arvind Swami after he rejected Madhu’s sister for marriage. In fact Madhu’s sister had an affair with another person and told Arvind Swami about it.
Arvind Swami was a renowned computer engineer and his senior officer asked him to take an assignment and go to Kashmir. Arvind Swami took Madhu and went to Kashmir. Over there Arvind Swamy was kidnapped by the terrorists led by Pankaj Kapoor. They demanded the release of their leader who was arrested and kept in custody.
Madhu went to all the officers present over there for the release of the terrorist leader for the sake of her husband. At the end of the film Arvind Swamy freed himself and came and met Madhu after being tortured by the terrorists. The film became super hit, with powerful direction, brilliant music of AR Rehman and powerful acting of mainly Arvind Swami, Madhu and Pankaj Kapoor. Madhu’s romantic appeal was balanced by her brilliant performance in the film. The songs “roja janeman”, “rukmini rukmini”, “dil hai chota sa” stormed bollywood films in mid-90s.
Madhu did well even in action films like Phool Aur Kaante, opposite Ajay Devgan. The film was related to the romantic story between Ajay Devgan and Madhu and the barriers created by anti-socials in their way. The music given in that film by Nadeem Shravan was also successful. The songs “premi pagal”, ‘tumse milne ko dil karta hai”, etc., sung by mainly Kumar Shanu and Alka Yagnik, became very successful. Phool Aur Kaante became a trend setter in the world of films based on college romance.
Madhu was also sublime in other films like Hum Hai Bemisaal, Diljaale, Return of the Jewel Thief, etc. She had acted with Sunil Shetty, Akshay Kumar and other leading stars of bollywood films. She was sublime in the film Yashwant opposite Nana Patekar. Her husband was adamant police of officer and she became a successful officer after passing civil service exam. She compromised with the uncompromising character played by Nana Patekar who gave her shelter and married her.
She acted in a number of Tamil and Malayalam films like Ottaya Pattalam as well. In the late 90s, all of a sudden she faded out of the bollywood industry. The viewers expect her to make a comeback very soon.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Director Partha Sen directed the film Baluka Bela.com which was released in 2012. It was produced by Kunal Ghosh.
In the film Parambrata Chatterjee and Locket Chatterjee took a break from their office schedule to spend time in beach resort in the hotel Balukabela.com . Both of them worked in the firm of Saswata Chatterjee. Saswata Chatterjee was eminent criminal lawyer practicing in Kolkata High Court. Parambrata Chatterjee and Locket Chatterjee told false story to Saswata Chatterjee to spend their first marriage anniversary in Balukabela.com.
Four friends Rahul, Rudranil, Indranil and Abhiraj came to Balukabela.com. They sacrificed one room for four young girls Payel, Suchandra, Ambalika and Tania. Rudranil Ghosh had a double role in the film. There was a servant working in the hotel having same face as that of the tourists, both played by Rudranil Ghosh.
Sudipa Basu played the role of a Geography teacher who brought the girls to the hotel. She fell in love with the owner of the hotel Paran Banerjee. She spoke in hindi and English. Paran Banerjee spoke in Bengali. At the end of the film when they left Sudipa Basu gifted Paran Banerjee an English to Bengali dictionary while Paran Banerjee gifted her an English to Bengali dictionary.
The four girls Payel, Suchanda, Ambalika and Tania also fell in love with Rahul, Rudranil, Abhiraj and Indranil. The film was made on the plot of romantic comedy. Saswata Chatterjee himself came to the resort.
Bratya Basu played the character of a mad person whose wife left him and went to Sri Lanka with another lover. He asked the questions to everyone that like far was Sri Lanka from India. He also asked the means by which anyone could go to Sri Lanka.
At the end of the film Saswata Chatterjee gave lift to Parambrata Chatterjee and Locket Chatterjee while returning back showing that he had condoned their excuse of taking leave from office and coming to Balukabela.com. Saswata Chatterjee, Parambrata Chatterjee and Locket Chatterjee did very well in the film. Sudipa Basu and Paran Banerjee did well in aged roles. The film should be seen by viewers.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Holi special was the added attraction of Zee Bangla Didi No. 1 Program on 27th March, 2013. Actors Biswanath, Neel Mukherjee, Jayjeet and Samrat came with their wives in the show.
Rachana Banerjee anchored the program. In the first round the husbands were asked to stand near a background and the wives were asked to throw balloons full of colours. They failed to hit the balloons. Rachana Banerjee asked everyone stories relating to their romantic lives. Jayjit said that his wife was from North Bengal. When he took his wife to go to Lava, Lolegaon; she did two things in the journey. Either she slept in the vehicle or vomited. In the first case after the journey was over she gave birth to a child within the next few months. She again vomited during a journey to hill spot. This time it was due to other reasons.
In the second round singer Shilajit came to perform in the show. He sang the song “tumi ja jinish guru”. Biswanath and Debaki sang the song “jay jay shiva Shankar”. Neel Mukherjee sang the song “ek tane te jemon temon.” All the singers did a great job.
In the third round Biswanath was asked to play the character of Madhuri Dixit. His wife Debaki Mukherjee was asked to identify the character. Biswanath danced in the song “ek do teen char paanch” from the film Tezaab.
In the fourth round, all the celebrities answered questions relating to riddles. Biswanath and his wife Debaki answered the maximum number of answers. So Debaki became the Didi No. 1 in the holy special episode.
She participated in the rapid fire round. She could not win the round. But the gifts that she won were not taken back. Then all the celebrities played holi together with colours, gulal, aabir, etc. Rachana Banerjee anchored the program very well.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

The holi festival has come again in 2013. The festival of colours brings a large section of the society together. These days holi is losing significance in the context of bollywood films and the stars involved with film-making. During the lifetime of Showman Raj Kapoor, holi was celebrated in RK Studio. It used to be a very prestigious affair. Other than members of the Kapoor family including Shammi Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Rajiv Kapoor and others, celebrities from the film industry used to play holi in the studio. These days Holi party is thrown by Raj Kundra and others.
The event marked the strengthening of relationship of members of the bollywood film industry. The celebration included directors like Manmohan Desai, actors like Dilip Kumar, singers like Mukesh, composers like Shankar Jaikishan, to name a few. The enthusiasm was there even during the 80s, when most of the celebrities who were contemporaries of Raj Kapoor became old.
Raj Kapoor himself stopped it in the late 80s as he started having physical discomfort while playing holi. He had asthma and the contact of colours basically aggravated the disease. The prestigious celebration of holi stopped after 1988, after the death of Raj Kapoor.
After that time, a number of other celebrities started the tradition of inviting the film industry to play holi. But the pomp and grandiuer that was there in RK Studio could not be replicated.
Holi forms an important festival for Indians and bollywood films had devoted a lot of space for holi. It was shown in films like Paraya Dhan, Sholay, Silsila, to name a few. The songs related to holi like “holi re holi” sung by Manna Dey, “holi ke rang” sung by Kishore Kumar, or “rang barse” sung by Big B had not lost their appeal even after 30 years of the release of the films.
Modern producers and directors can also portray the festival of colours in modern films in their innovative style as holi is one of the most popular festivals of the country. Ranbir Kapoor is on the way to be the new superstar of bollywood films with successful performances in films like Bachna Aye Haseeno, Wake Up Sid and Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani. He can make an effort to revive the holi celebrations in RK Studio.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

The film Aatma had been released on 22nd March all over India. The director Suparn Verma did a great job.
In the film it was shown that Nawazuddin Siddique, the husband of Bipasha Basu died out of an accident. He loved his daughter played by Doyel Dhawan a lot.
The soul, or the aatma of Nawazuddin came and possessed Doyel. He was ruthless towards Bipasha. He thought she had an affair with an office colleague named Pankaj.
Nawauddin’s aatma started killing each and everyone who were related to Doyel. He first killed a classmate of Doyel, who used to sit behind Doyel and create mischief. Then he killed the class teacher of Doyel who once scolded Doyel.
Bipasha Basu took Doyel to a psychologist. The aatma killed him. Bipasha took the help of a tantric also. The tantric gave her a sacred thread with maduli and asked the child to wear it. While the tantric was doing puja, the aatma killed him also.
Bipasha was advised to go to another place for some time for a change. The aatma chased Doyel there also. When the aatma killed Bipasha’s friend in the kitchen, she was also there and the police arrested Bipasha thinking that she had killed the friend.
Bipasha came to understand that the aatma was too strong. It was not possible for a living human being to kill the aatma. Only a dead spirit could have killed it. So Bipasha deliberately crushed her head in the walls of the confinement home to die. Her spirit came and saved Doyel from being killed by the aatma in a railway line. Then by using the sacred thread she killed the aatma, the spirit of Nawazuddin.
The performance of Nawazuddin Siddique was par excellence. He just continued from where he left in the film Kahaani and Talaash, Bipasha Basu and Doyel were also very impressive in their roles. The side artists Darshan Jariwala, Mohan Kapoor, Shernaz Patel were very impressive.
But one fact in the film that the aatma was more powerful from the Godly forces was something impractical. There is no logic which says an aatma can be killed only by an aatma. There were other films in the past like Raat where it was shown that with puja and yajna, evil spirits can be driven out.
It is sad that the film did not get good opening. The story was innovative and the direction and acting was brilliant. Viewers should see the film.

Friday, March 22, 2013

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rani Mukherjee on 21st March, 2013. Born on 21st March, 1978, she started her career with the film Raja Ki Ayegi Baraat. She ruled bollywood films from 2002 to 2006. After that all of a sudden her stardom got affected.
She rose to stardom with brilliant performance in Karan Johar’s film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. She acted opposite Kajol and Shahrukh Khan and superseded both of them in the film. She received the filmfare best supporting actress award for her performance in the film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. After reaching stardom she acted opposite all the leading stars of bollywood films. Her films Badal and Bichhu opposite Bobby Deol, which involved terrorism and narcotics respectively, did great business. Her film Ghulam opposite Aamir Khan was successful. Her lips in the song “aati kya khandala” were well appreciated.
She got critical acclamation for powerful performance in the film Saathiya opposite Vivek Oberoi. All the songs composed by AR Rehman were super hit and film took Rani Mukherjee’s career to a different dimension. She played significant roles in other films like Nayak opposite Anil Kapoor, Chori Chori Chupke Chupke opposite Salman Khan, Chalte Chalte opposite Shahrukh Khan.
She played the role of her life in Black. In the film she played the character of a blind girl. The entire process rediscovering herself earned her the filmfare award under the category of both best actress and best actress under critic’s choice. Then her combination with Abhishek Bacchan was well received by the viewers. Films like Bunty Aur Bably and Yuva was well received by the viewers. Rani Mukherjee started showing her versatility in any type of role, including the role of surrogate mother, aspiring model, etc.
Her other successful films included Mujhse Dosti Karoge opposite Hrithik Roshan, Veer Zara opposite Shahrukh Khan, Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega opposite Salman Khan, to name a few. Her attachment with the Yash Raj Banner had led to downfall after 2007. None of the films like Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic, Ta Ra Rum Pum, did good business, and Rani Mukherjee lost out of competition with successful actresses of the present period like Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Vidya Balan, etc.
In 2011, her film No One Killed Jessica did well. She acted opposite Vidya Balan and the performance of both the actresses was well appreciated by the audience and the critics. She received awards also for the brilliant performance in the film No One Killed Jessica. In 2012 she acted two films. Her performance opposite Aamir Khan in the film Talaash was well appreciated. The other film Aiyyaa did mediocre business.
In 2013 she is busy with the film Bombay Talkies. The viewers expect Rani Mukherjee to make come back in character roles because a lot of acting is still left in her.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to successful bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut on 20th March, 2013. Kangana Ranaut had created a strong box-office for herself during her short career till now.
In 2008 when she acted in the film Fashion, she amazed the audience with her powerful performance in a Madhur Bhandarkar film, which had more elements involving reality than larger than life image. The film showed the new entrants in the fashion industry. Priyanka Chopra played the main role in the film who had come from her native town to Mumbai to create her identity in the fashion industry.
Priyanka interacted with Kangana Ranaut in the fashion industry and came to know about her struggle as well. Success in that industry is obtained at the cost of peace, security, happiness. Both Kangana and Priyanka played their part to perfection and created a mark in the minds of intellectual audience. Both Kangana Ranaut and Priyanka Chopra received filmfare awards for their best performance in Fashion as best supporting actress and best actress respectively.
Kangana Ranaut played her role to perfection even in the film Gangster and Life in a Metro. Her performance in Gangster brought her the best debutant award in 2007. In Life in a Metro, she played the role of a girl who could not decide about what to do in a Metro city. She was confused about the boyfriends and could not find out who really wanted her.
She was probably at her best in the film Raaz, the mystery continues opposite Adhyayan Suman and Imraan Hashmi. It has been released in January, 2009 and already did good business in India and abroad. The unsatisfied soul of Jackie Shroff had entered her body, and Imraan Hashmi could see the future events while he did paint Kangana’s face.
At the end of the film, Kangana and Imraan Hashmi went to the place Kalindi, where they unearthed the past events where a chemical plant used to dump its toxic wastes in a sacred lake near a temple. When Jackie Shroff complained about it, he was killed by the gundas sent by the priest. So the unsatisfied soul of Jackie Shroff entered the body of Kangana Ranaut to tell the story to everyone. Kangana again can get nomination for best actress for her horrified performance in the film Raaz –the mysery continues.
Although her film Kites opposite Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori and No Problem opposite Akshay Khanna did mediocre business in 2010, she bounced back with the film Tanu Weds Manu. R. Madhavan acted opposite her and the film did good business.She did well in those films but the films were not accepted by the audience for different reasons. She has age, beauty and acting talent in her favour which can make an impact in 2013.
She is anxiously waiting for her new releases in 2013 namely Shootout at Wadala and Krish 3. The viewers expect her to do well in the films in future.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Singer Rupankar Bagchi stormed Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program on 19th March, 2013. Rupankar had been a successful singer of the present time. He had sung many brilliant songs both Bengali modern songs and Bengali film songs. He learned music from renowned singers of bengal, namely Sukumar Mitra, Jotileshwar Mukherjee and others.
On Tuesday, Rajatavo Dutta was not there. Paran Banerjee and Srilekha Mitra were present as the judges. There were 27 participants in the show. Elimination rounds had started.
A child participant performed very well. He resembled Subhankar Chatterjee, the producer of the show. So Mir Afsar Ali called him Choto Subhankar.
One of the participants showed his singing skills. He made parody of almost all the songs. He changed the words. Thereafter he sang the song in the right context. He used up Rupankar’s own song “gobhire jao”, changed the words and used the words of the song for representing and love affair between a boy and a girl in the park. Rupankar congratulated the participant along with the other judges Paran Banerjee and Rajatavo Dutta.
The winners of the older versions of Mirakkel Program also appeared and performed in the show. One act was played by Arnab, Sajal and Zamil Hussain. The act was related to hired singers in a marriage. Arnab played the character of the groom. He tried to experience his first night with the bride. Due to irritating singing performance by Sajal and Zamil Hussain the entire situation became worst and the bride tore all the clothes of the groom. Rupankar, Srilekha Mitra and Paran Banerjee could not stop their laughter at the performance of the veterans.
Mir Afsar Ali anchored the program very well.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Happy birthday to Shashi Kapoor.
The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Shashi Kapoor on 18th March, 2013. In 2011 he received the filmfare lifetime achievement award. In 2011, he received Padmabhushan, the civilian award for his excellence in bollywood films. His sickness prevents him from freely walking, but he receives most of his awards on wheel chair.
Born in 1938, Shashi Kapoor started his acting career in the film Aag in 1948 directed by his elder brother Raj Kapoor. He also showed his acting skills as a child artist in the film Awara in 1951. The film won different awards in international film festivals and ended up being super hit.
Shashi Kapoor acted in off-beat films at the beginning of his career like Prempatra opposite Sadhna. He entertained the audience with the film Jab Jab Phool Khilen in 1965. All the songs of Rafi composed by Kalyanji Anandji in the film became super hit like “pardesiyon se na”, “yahan mai ajnabee hoon”, “na na karke pyar”, etc. From that time Shashi Kapoor acted with Nanda in a number of films like Muhabbat Is Ko Kehte Hai, Neend Hamari Khwab Tumhari, etc. Rafi’s songs in many Shashi Kapoor films did magic including “o dilbar janiye”, “dilbar dilbar”, “bekhudi me sanam”, to name a few. Shankar Jaikishan gave notable tunes to Shashi Kapoor in the film Kanyadan. Madanmohan gave notable tunes to Shashi Kapoor in the film Neend Hamari Khwab Tumhari.
In the late 60s Shashi Kapoor acted in many romantic films like Pyar Kiye Jaa, Kanyadaan, Abhinetri, Ek Shriman Ek Shrimati, etc. In Pyar Kiye Ja, he acted opposite actress Nanda, in Kanyadan he acted opposite Asha Parekh, in Abhinetri he acted opposite Hema Malini, in Ek Shriman Ek Shrimati he acted opposite Babita. In the 70s, Shashi Kapoor acted in action films along with Amitabh Bacchan, at a time when action films dominated either types of films in bollywood.
His dialogue in the film Dewaar opposite Big B titled “mere paas ma hai” became immortal over the years. He acted in many films opposite Big B like Shaan, Do Aur Do Paanch, Iman Dharam, Namakhalal, Suhaag, Kala Pathhar, Kabhi Kabhi,Trishul, Silsila, etc., and most of those films ended up being blockbusters. Some of these films were multi-starred in nature. For example in Shaan and Kala Patthar he acted opposite Big B and Shatrughun Sinha. It was his sheer talent, that he could adapt himself in the new regime of anti-establishment films in the 70s, starting from Dewaar, which were quite different from the society shown in the romantic films of the 60s. He acted with other bollywood actors like Shatrughun Sinha in films like Gautam Govinda.
He was a close friend of Ismail Merchant and featured in many of his English films like Siddharta. He produced impressive films like Junoon directed by Shyam Benegal and Vijeta directed by Govind Nihalini. His sons Kunal Kapoor and Karan Kapoor acted in many films.
In the 1990s, Shashi Kapoor put on a lot of weight and stopped acting. He was in tears to receive the filmfare lifetime achievement award. The viewers pay homage to the veteran actor and wish him good health.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Rachana Banerjee, the host of Zee Bangla Didi No. 1 Program invited Bengali actresses Kanchana Maitra, Rituparna Sen, Soumili Ghosh and Manjushri Ganguly in the show Zee Bangla Didi No. 1 Program. All the artists had acted both in films as well as teleserials.
Actress Kanchana Maitra was very popular in the Bengali teleserial Erao Shatru shown in Zee Bangla Channel till 2012. She acted in the hit film Bye Bye Bangkok.
When Rachana Banerjee asked her about her affairs, she said she had fallen in love with many people but none of the affairs lasted for a long time. Rituparna Sen said she got married recently. She went for honeymoon with her husband to the country Hongkong. In the first round Kanchana Maitra topped the round and got a scope of guesing a window and she rightly guessed to get Washing Machine.
In the second round that was the singing round all the participants sang their songs very well. In the third round, Rachana Banerjee called up Rituparna Sen on stage and asked her to play the character of the proverb. She did the acting. Kanchana Maitra identified the proverb which was “nachte na jaanle uthon benka”.
In the fourth round all the participants gave answers relating to the puzzles. Rituparna Sen gave maximum number of answers and became Didi No. 1. But in the last round that was the rapid fire round she could answer the five things Rachana Banerjee asked. All the participants played very well and Rachana Banerjee anchored the program also very well.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Mr. Perfectionist and Committed Star Amir Khan on 14th of March, 2013. He has proved himself as one of the most committed actors of modern bollywood films. He also carried on the legacy of Tragedy King Dilip Kumar of acting in less number of films and meaningful films. In 2012, the viewers are eagerly waiting for his new film Talaash. These days whenever Amir Khan’s films are released they end up being blockbusters.
He started his career with the hit film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak in 1988 opposite Juhi Chawla. His film had brought back the era of romantic films, after bollywood was loaded with action films for more than 20 years. The music of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak composed by Anand Milind and majority of songs sung by Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik created history. The popular songs included “aye mere humsafar”, “papa kehte hai”, etc. The film did excellent business and Amir Khan became a star at the early part of his career.
From that time onwards Amir Khan acted in many romantic films like Hum Hai Rahi Pyar Ke, opposite Juhi Chawla, Ishq opposite Juhi Chawla, Dil opposite Madhuri Dixit, Mann opposite Manisha Koirala. Being a relative of Nasir Hussain, Amir Khan showed his acting skills from the beginning of his career. He gave able lips in most of the songs of Udit Narayan and with passage of time showed his versatility in different types of films.
He did extremely well in Ashutosh Gowarikar’s film Lagaan. Lagaan was based on the story of Indian farmers entering into a challenge with the British Govt. during the colonial rule. A cricket match was held between the British team and the Indian peasants. The condition was that if the Indians won it, the farmers would be excused of the share of produce that they supposed to give the landlords and the British Govt. of such. Amir Khan gave training to the rural Indians and ultimately won the match amidst odds.
Amir Khan was sublime in his performance in patriotic film based on the life Mangal Pandey and he did an excellent job in the film Sarfarosh. Even as a director he showed innovative vision by making a film on the subject related to children. The film Taren Zameen Par showed that every child in the world is special. They have their innovative qualities. The job of the teachers and the academicians should be to unearth their skills The songs in the film composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy were also sensational.
Even in 2008, Amir Khan’s film Ghajini was remarkable in nature. He played the role of a person who lost his memory every 20 minutes. He took revenge against the murder of his girlfriend, but he did it with his limitation in respect of the lost memory. He had played probably the role of his career. He came out with even greater hit film in 2009, The 3 idiots. The film had done more than 200 crores business till now. Even more than that the film directed by Raj Kumar Hirani, had a serious social message to give. The message is that the parents should not overburden the students with their own choices. Students should be allowed to specialize in the line they love and enjoy. Although filmfare awards had not been fare to Amir Khan, it does not matter for Amir Khan at all. He is the actor of the refined section of audience and will remain there for periods to come. In 2010, his venture Peepli Live had been ably appreciated by the critics and the audience as a whole.
In 2011, his film Dhobi Ghaat did well in most part of India. He had acted well in the film. He also requested hall owners not to give break in the film, because it takes away the concentration in the film. Talash released in 2012 showed the intensity with which Amir Khan played the role of investigating officer who lost his own son who drowned in water. Amir Khan will also be seen in Dhoom 3 to be released in 2013. He is a very cultured actor and the viewers have lot of hope on the thoughtful personality for innovative ventures in the years to come.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Srabanti Chatterjee and Ankush stormed Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program.
Srabanti Chatterjee and Ankush stormed Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program on 11th March, 2013. Both of them came in the show to promote their upcoming film Kanamachi. Both of them were looking gorgious in the film.
Mir Afsar Ali, the anchor of the show welcomed them. The judges Rajatavo Dutta, Srilekha Mitra and Paran Banerjee also welcomed them.
Mir told everyone that Rajatavo Dutta also played a negative character, the role of a politician in the film Kanamachi. Srabanti Chatterjee said that both she herself and Ankush played the character of journalists in the film. They were honest reporters. At the end of the film the truth relating to the act of politicians were unfolded by Ankush, Srabanti Chatterjee and Abir Chatterjee. Abir Chatterjee also played an important character in the film.
In the show when one of the participants were performing, Mir called up Srabanti Chatterjee and Ankush on stage to show their dance steps in one of the songs in the film Kanamachi. Fatik Purokayet, Maduli danced with them. Srabanti Chatterjee and Ankush announced the names of the winners of prizes in the show. Srabanti Chatterjee said that she had got probably the most dignified roles of her career in the film Kanamachi.
Mir Afsar Ali told everyone to go and see the film.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Veteran actor Joy Mukherjee died on 9th March, 2012. He was the son of noted filmmaker Sasadhar Mukherjee and Sati Debi.
Sasadhar Mukherjee was the co-founder of Filmalaya Studios.
Joy Mukherjee stormed bollywood films with his debut in the film Love in Simla in 1960. It was directed by RK Nayyar. Iqbal Qureshi composed the music of the film. From that time the everlasting combination of Joy Mukherjee with Mohammad Rafi stormed bollywood music for the next 10 years.
After acting in the films Umeed and Hum Hindustani, Joy Mukherjee stormed bollywood with the film Ek Musafir Ek Haseena in 1962. Raj Khosla directed the film. The magic of OP Nayyar with Rafi made the audience spellbound. All the songs were masterpieces including “aap yuhi agar humse milte rahe”, “phir tere shahar me mitne ko chala aya hoon”, “humko tumhare ishqne kya kya bana diya”, “bahut shukhriya bari meherbani”, “mujhe dekhkar aapka muskurana”, to name a few. The songs just intoxicated the audience. Ek Musafir Ek Haseena the second biggest hit film of 1962.
The Joy Mukherjee, OP Nayyar and Rafi magic continued in the film Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon in 1963. It was produced and directed by Nasir Hussain. Again the songs were masterpieces including “zulf ke chayon me chehereka ujala lekar”, “nazneen bara rangeen hai wada tera”, “banda parwar thamlo jigar”, “lakhon hai nigahon me”, “anchal me saja lena kaliyan”, “aji kibla mohe tarma”, to name a few. It was par excellence. Probably OP Nayyar and Rafi combination was at the zenith. The film ended up being the third biggest hit film of 1963.
In 1964, Joy Mukherjee’s film Ziddi did great business. This time it was directed by Pramod Chakravarty. The music was composed by SD Burman. Rafi’s songs “janu kya mera dil ab kahan kho gaya”, “teri surat se nahi milti kisi ki surat”, “pyar ki manzil mast haseen” were all melodious songs and became superhit. Rafi Joy Mukherjee continued in the films Ishaara, Door Ki Awaaz and Ayo Pyar Karen.
Joy Mukherjee again stormed bollywood in the film Love in Tokyo. Shankar Jaikishan’s composition of music in the film rocked bollywood. Lata’s songs “sayonara sayonara”, “hume tum mil gaye humdum” was as popular as Rafi’s “Japan, love in Tokyo”, “aaja re aa zara aa”, “o mere shahekhuba”, and Manna Dey’s “mai tere pyar me bimar hun kya arz karun”. The westernized andaz of Rafi mesmerized the audience along with Japan’s exotic locations.
Joy Mukherjee and Rafi again created magic in the film Shagird in 1967. This time Laxmikant Pyarellal stormed bollywood. Rafi’s songs “o bare miya diwane”, “o hai zara khafa khafa”, “duniya paagal hai” all created magic. Joy Mukherjee’s online chemistry with Saira Banu attracted the viewers. From Humsaya in 1968, gradually Joy Mukherjee’s box office popularity declined. OP Nayyar composed the music of the film and Rafi’s song “dil ki awaaz na sun” again became hit, but the film did not do great business.
From that time onwards Joy Mukherjee gradually faded out of the industry. His later films like Ek Kali Muskai, Dil Aur Muhabbat, Dupatta, Ek Baar Muskurado did very ordinary business. Rafi sang notable songs in some of these films, but neither the compositions nor the songs did touch the souls of the audience in the same way, the way it did in Love in Tokyo.
Joy Mukherjee had given lips in more than 200 songs of Mohammad Rafi. His songs and the films should be restored to remember the great combination of evergreen Mohammad Rafi with the romantic actor.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to sweet singer Shreya Ghoshal on 12th March, 2013. From national awards, Zee Cine Awards, Starscreen awards and filmfare awards, she had remained a frequent recipient of the awards due to her sheer brilliance.
Bollywood films in the 50s, 60s and 70s were dominated by Lata, Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum, Suraiya, Sudha Malhotra, Suman Kalyanpur, etc. In the 80s and 90s Alka Yagnik and Kavita Krishnamurty made a very notable contribution in bollywood films. Shreya Ghoshal had established herself the future singer of bollywood cinema for the last few years.
Born in a Bengali family in Rawatbhata, in Kota district of Rajasthan, Shreya Ghoshal learnt classical music from Mahesh Chandra Sharma. She participated in the musical competition in the TV Channel titled Saregamapa, and when she reached the finals after defeating renowned female singers, the producers, directors and composers were moved by her performance.
She made her presence felt with her song in the film Devdas, directed by Sanjay Leela Banshali, with the song “bairi piya” and after that she never had to look back. Just like Sonu Nigam had created a gharana by himself and composers agree about his versatility, similarly Shreya Ghoshal is undoubtedly the future of Indian playback singing.
She received the filmfare award for the best female singer along with Kavita Krishnamurty for the song “dola re” from the film Devdas, picturised on Madhuri Dixit and Aiswariya Rai. Her other hits songs include “jadu hai nasha hai” from the film Jism. She also amazed the listeners with the song “piyu bole, piya bole” picturised on Vidya Balan, from the film Parineeta, where Sonu Nigam sang it for Saif Ali Khan. The sweetness of her voice matched the period (late 19th century) when singers of the Bengali traditional families used to present their talent in soft style
She also the song “apne aansoo peene ke liye” from the film Paheli, very well, along with powerful performance from Rani Mukherjee and Shahrukh Khan in the film. She also received filmfare award for the best singer for her song in the film Guru, titled “barsdo re” composed by AR Rehman.
She had song notable Bengali songs like “pagla hawa” in The Bong Connection, “mon diye mon niye” in Agnipath, etc. In 2010, her song “bahara bahara” in the film I Hate Luv Stories was striking. She was extremely sweet in the duet song “tu ne to palbhar me chori kiya re jiya” with Sonu Nigam, in the film Dabanng, which went to do a business worth 150 crores. She sang brilliant songs in 2012 in different films like Agneepath, Jab Tak Hai Jaan. With a number of songs which are going to be released in different films in 2013, she is expected to continue her good work and the viewers and listeners expect her best in the years to come.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Anchor Rachana Banerjee of Zee Bangla Didi No. 1 came and conquered everyone in the show Zee Bangla Mirakkel 7 Program on 4th March, 2013. Rachana Banerjee was invited as the guest judge in the show.
The two other judges Paran Banerjee and Rajatavo Dutta were present. Srilekha Mitra was the other judge who had not been present on that day. Rachana Banerjee announced that there was Chaitra festival in the march of March, 2013. There will be huge number of prizes in that program. Participants will get an opportunity to go to foreign countries, get cars and huge numbers of expensive prizes.
The new participants did well in the program. There were two girls who presented together. One talked about the actresses during the 1950s and 1960s. The other talked about the actresses of the present period. There was an old person of the age of 72 years who came and told jokes relating to old age.
There was an act played by ex-finalists like Vicky, Partho, Sangeet Tiwary and actress Sneha. They acted a part related to the conversation of Adam and Eve. They did a great job. Vicky played the character of Isaac Newton.
At the end of the show Apurbo Roy came and stole the show. He played the character of ghost. He said “jekhane bhooter bhoy” ,“sekhane Apurbo Roy”. Rachana Banerjee, Paran Banerjee and Rajatavo Dutta appreciated him a lot. They also appreciated his make up. Mir Afsar Ali said all the new participants are talented and brave to perform before a big panel.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Sandip Ray created the suspense in the thriller film Goroshane Sabdhan.
In 2010, Sandip Ray, the son of Oscar winning director Satyajit Ray made the excellent film Gorosthane Sabdhan. It was based on the Feluda Series written by Satyajit Ray titled Gorosthane Sabdhan. Sabyasachi Chakravarty played the role of detective Prodosh Mitra, while Bibhu Bhattacharya played the role of Lalmohan Ganguly and Saheb Bhattacharya played the role of Tapesh Ranjan.
Mou Roychoudhury produced the film. There was news of digging of grave in the heritage place, the Park Street graveyard in Kolkata where the graves of renowned personalities were there. Pradip Mukherjee, was injured by a falling tree on a stormy night in Kolkata. Sabyasachi Chakravarty who played the role of Feluda did his own investigation and got a card of Pradip Mukherjee, where the initials of a number of Publishers were there.
From the coat of Pradip Mukherjee other details relating to Thomas Godwin were identified. Thomas Godwin was a cook in North India who received a lot of expensive bakshish during Colonial period. He settled in Kolkata in the 18th Century, but due to bad habit of gambling, he lost most of them. His heirs included Tinnu Anand and others, whom Feluda went and interrogated.
In the mean time Dhritiman Chatterjee, a rich businessman with the help of Subhashish Mukherjee, the brother of Pradip Mukherjee, dug the graves to get a Perigal Repeater. That was the name of an expensive clock. Dhritiman Chatterjee did business in antique clocks and he used the will of Thomas Godwin to get the clock illegally.
Feluda stepped in and stopped the invasion. There was thrill at every level. Feluda went to the graveyard a number of times, where Jatayu got scared. He went to the house of the Godwin, when one his descendants were doing planchet, he entered the room and stole ivory box.
Lastly there was drama in the room of Dhritiman Chatterjee, who used his men to strike Feluda, Topshe and Jatayu and bring them to his house for getting the expensive clock.
Satyajit Ray’s original story was excellent, giving reference of old Kolkata, and history of Thomas Godwin. Sandip Ray had the uphill task of making of film at least 20 years after the story was written. But he rose up to the occasion and gifted a thriller. Sabyasachi Chakravarty and Dhritiman Chatterjee were brilliant. Bibhu Bhattacharya acted well in the film. Saheb Bhattacharya played the role of topshe for the first time after Parambrata Chatterjee left the character of Tapshe. The film should be seen by the audience.

Friday, March 1, 2013

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Fardeen Khan on 8th March, 2013. He had created an identity for himself inspite of being the son of popular bollywood star Feroz Khan. Most of the sons and daughters of the celebrities of bollywood films had always struggled due to comparison of them with their parents.
In case of Fardeen Khan, he never tried to imitate Feroz Khan. Feroz Khan was famous for his stylish performance in action films including Oonche Log, Apradh, Dharmatma, Khote Sikke, Qurbani, Jaanbaaz, Yalgaar, etc. In most of these films he introduced Hollywood style of acting in Indian films. Fardeen Khan instead of imitating his father created a simple style of acting which suited different types of films.
His performance in the film No Entry in 2005, requires special mention. He played the character of a journalist in the film in the company of Anil Kapoor. He had an affair with Celina Jaitley, but just because he had to save Anil Kapoor, he told a lie to Lara Dutta that Bipasha Basu was his wife.
From that time onwards he just went on telling one lie after the other. He went to Mauritious for honeymoon. Even there he found Anil Kapoor and Lara Dutta and his relationship with Bipasha Basu was revealed. Both Lara Dutta and Celina Jaitley filed divorce suits against Anil Kapoor and Fardeen Khan respectively due to their relationship with Bipasha Basu. Salman Khan had to come all the way from abroad to save the situation. His playacting with Esha Deol had helped both Fardeen Khan and Anil Kapoor to ease out their relationship with their wives. Fardeen Khan’s lips in the song “kahan ho tum” was very impressive. The film had excellent songs and the comedy sequences appealed to the viewers. The film ended up being a blockbuster.
The other notable films of Fardeen Khan included Bhoot with Urmila Matondkar, Jungle with Urmila Matondkar, etc. In Bhoot he played a negative character but expressed the horror feelings to perfection when Urmila Matondkar’s spirits haunted him. The film Jungle was based on the story of Veerappan in the forests of Karnataka where he became a smuggling don. Fardeen Khan’s performance in the film Dev was also worth mentioning.
In 2009, Fardeen Khan’s film All The Best with Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgan did business worth 60 crore rupees. He played the role of the brother of Sanjay Dutt who used the pocket money to do weird acts. His friend Ajay Devgan used to give him ideas but it created more trouble for Fardeen Khan. When Sanjay Dutt came for sudden visit to his house as his flight got delayed, the chaos and confusion entertained the viewers. Fardeen Khan’s docile image in the film balanced the aggressive image of Sanjay Dutt. Bipasha Basu and Mugdha Godse complimented the stars in the film.
It is difficult for Fardeen Khan to match the popularity of Salmaan Khan or Shahrukh Khan or Hrithik Roshan in the present time. But even with his limited popularity he has created an identity with which he can be categorized. In 2014, his film No Entry Mein Entry will be completed. He will act with the same team that he acted in No Entry, including Salman Khan and Anil Kapoor. The viewers expect Fardeen Khan to explore himself further in bollywood films in future.

Dr. Souvik Chatterji

Master of Law from Warwick University, Coventry,UK

Received Doctorate Degree in Philosophy of law from National Law University, Jodhpur after submitting PhD Thesis in Law in National Law University, Jodhpur on the topic “Treatment of Cartels in India and USA”.